The present invention concerns an apparatus designed to receive, support, transport and/or position tire and wheel assemblies, and a method for using the apparatus to remove the assemblies from vehicles, inspect the assemblies, and/or attach the assemblies to vehicles.
Removing tire and wheel assemblies and reattaching such assemblies to vehicles is a difficult and laborious task, particularly when positioning the tire and wheel assembly correctly for mounting it to wheel studs of the vehicle. Although changing a tire and wheel assembly for a personal passenger automobile is not easy, it does not compare to the difficult task of changing single or dual tire and wheel assemblies of large vehicles, such as commercial trucks and semi-tractors and trailers.
Some devices are known that ostensibly were designed to receive and transport tire and wheel assemblies. These devices are little better than hand carts. Known devices, such as dual wheel caddies, provide a very limited vertical position adjustment range of less than 6 inches, and typically only about 4 inches. This means that tire and wheel assemblies supported by such devices cannot be moved to different vertical positions that allow positioning of the device to a lowest vertical position for removing or attaching a wheel assembly and to a highest vertical position that allows an operator to work on the assembly in a comfortable, upright position. Moreover, known devices include no hoist or lifting mechanism by which the vertical position of a tire and wheel assembly can be virtually infinitely incrementally changed to position the device appropriately to receive tire and wheel assemblies as they are removed from the vehicle, or to position the assembly correctly for attaching it to wheel studs of a vehicle.
Devices also are known that have specific structural features designed for removing brake drum and hub assemblies, as opposed to tire and wheel assemblies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,004 (the ""004 patent) describes a device, referred to as the Back Buddy(trademark), that is useful for coupling to and removing brake drum and hub assemblies. The Back Buddy(trademark) has structural features specifically designed to receive brake drum and hub assemblies. For example, the ""004 patent discusses hub assembly attachment members that are designed specifically for coupling to hub assemblies. While the Back Buddy(trademark) works quite well for removing brake drum and hub assemblies, it is of little use for removing, supporting and/or transporting tire and wheel assemblies.
The need for a device designed specifically for removing tire and wheel assemblies has persisted since the advent of vehicles. Despite this persistent need, no suitable device appears to have been developed for handling, positioning and transporting tire and wheel assemblies.
The present invention provides an apparatus, and method for its use, that addresses the problems identified above in the Background. For example, a working embodiment of the device includes a tire and wheel support that eliminates the need to chain assemblies to the device, which generally is required with prior known devices. The apparatus also generally is easier to maneuver than known devices. And, the vertical position of the tire and wheel support can be adjusted to (1) a lowest position that allows removing a wheel assembly from a vehicle and placing it directly on the apparatus, or allows attaching the wheel assembly directly onto wheel studs of a vehicle from the apparatus, and (2) to a highest vertical position that allows one to work on the wheel assembly in a comfortable, upright position. Moreover, rollers on the tire and wheel support allow facile repositioning of the tire and wheel assembly, particularly rotating the assembly while it is supported by the apparatus, which is helpful for, amongst other things, inspecting a tire and wheel assembly.
One embodiment of the apparatus is particularly designed to receive, transport and position tire and wheel assemblies of vehicles, particularly large vehicles. This embodiment of the apparatus comprised a lower frame, an upright support coupled to the lower frame, a vertical positioning device, and a tire and wheel assembly support operably coupled to the vertical positioning device. Working embodiments included a lower U-shaped frame having plural casters attached thereto for easy positioning of the apparatus, particularly for positioning the apparatus under fender wells and about tires attached to vehicles.
Tire and wheel assemblies are supported on the apparatus using a tire support. One embodiment of the tire support included a tire support ring coupled to a tire support bracket. As used herein, xe2x80x9cringxe2x80x9d refers to any geometric shape that can receive the hub (or other lateral projecting portion) of a tire and wheel assembly, such as, but not limited to, squares, rectangles, triangles and circles. A working embodiment of the tire support ring was substantially circular with a ring diameter sized to receive hubs.
The tire support bracket was designed to directly engage a tire with the tire supported by the apparatus. One embodiment of the tire support bracket included elongated tire support members extending from the support bracket. The terminal ends of the support members were angled upwardly from parallel to a surface supporting the apparatus. These inclined support members allow the tire and wheel assembly to recline slightly back from vertical to allow it to rest securely on the apparatus.
The apparatus also generally included plural support rollers for engaging a tire. For example, one embodiment of the apparatus included 3 rollers positioned at 120xc2x0 intervals about the circumference of a substantially circular tire support ring. Additional tire-engaging rollers also can be coupled to the tire support members of the tire support bracket.
The apparatus also generally includes a floor stop. The floor stop allows the apparatus to be firmly locked into a desired position for removing or attaching the wheel assembly, or into a desired position for inspecting or working on the assembly. Working embodiments of the floor stop included a foot-actuated pedal for actuating the floor stop to lock the apparatus into a desired position, a foot actual release bar to release the stop so that the apparatus could be moved, or both.
The present invention also provides a method for receiving, supporting, transporting and/or positioning tire and wheel assemblies. The method involves providing an apparatus comprising a lower frame, an upright support coupled to the lower frame, a vertical positioning device, and a tire and wheel assembly support operably coupled to the vertical positioning device. A tire and wheel assembly is placed on this apparatus, which thereafter supports the assembly for, for example, inspection and/or repair.
The apparatus also can be used to remove and/or attach tire and wheel assemblies to vehicles. For these embodiments of the method, the apparatus is positioned adjacent a tire and wheel assembly of a vehicle. The vertical position of the tire and wheel support assembly is adjusted to a lowest vertical position to engage the tire and wheel assembly. The tire and wheel assembly is then removed from the vehicle and placed on the apparatus, which supports the tire and wheel assembly. This allows an operator to transport the assembly to another location, or work on the assembly while it is supported by the apparatus. Once the tire and wheel assembly has been inspected or repaired as needed, then the apparatus of the present invention is used to transport the assembly to a position adjacent the vehicle for reattaching the assembly to the wheel studs.